I'd choose you in any version of reality
by SimpleMistake44
Summary: MODERN AU! Eric Forman and his parents move to NYC and he is thrust into a world he isn't used to. Jackie/Eric. (loosely Gossip Girl-esque, but you don't have to have seen it to understand the storyline)


Eric Forman was staring at himself in the mirror. His red and gold striped tie was knotted correctly, much to his chagrin. His blazer didn't have a single small wrinkle. He ran his fingers over the material and ruffled the folds between his fingers. He stared himself in the face and noticed that the nicks from razor were finally not as red and the skin underneath felt smooth. His once longer brown hair that fell into his eyes was now cut shorter. Eric felt like his forehead was naked without the hair falling over it.

"I look ridiculous," he muttered under his breath. It was his first day at St. Jude's School for Boys, one of the most elite schools in the country, but that fact didn't matter to him. He wished he were nestled in his quaint bedroom back in Point Place.

He had moved to the city in June with his parents and still hadn't fully adjusted to the differences. He barely left his room and neglected to make a single friend except their housemaid Anita. She was Polish and surprisingly good at Texas Hold'em. He learned that after she cleaned him out one late night after he had too much of his dad's imported beer.

Eric sighed. He missed Wisconsin. Their wasn't much to it, but it was home to him. New York felt like a long bad vacation he couldn't escape. The tall buildings surrounded his bay window from his room. He couldn't see open spaces, but instead he could always see what went on in his neighbor's living room.

He left his lavish bedroom and entered the kitchen. His mother was humming while she was making her famous pancakes. She knew he couldn't brood with the smell of fresh pancakes and bacon. They had chefs on hand, but his mom, Kitty, always enjoyed making her famous Sigurdson pancakes without the help of Chef Lorenzo.

His dad, Red, was sitting at the dining room table, his New York Times firmly clenched in his left hand and a hot cup of coffee in the right. New York or Wisconsin, his father still seemed to find the same stride as he always had. His transition was effortless.

The whole move went by in a hazy blur; one minute he was walking home from school thinking about what he wanted to eat for dinner, and the next his dad was a millionaire. He won the lottery and suddenly everything had changed. News cameras swarmed and suddenly he was a local celebrity in his small town. His dad bought out Expert Auto, one of the biggest auto repair chains in the country and the millions turned into billions within six months.

The idea of staying in Wisconsin suddenly became futile after that. Eric's parents discussed moving to New York City where headquarters for Expert Auto were so they could attend shareholder meetings weekly. Eric was an innocent bystander in the whole process. They didn't ask him if he wanted to go. They just assumed and already began packing things up.

"Are you really leaving for New York?" Donna had asked him. Donna was his girlfriend, but among everything else she was his best friend. The classic girl next-door fairytale fell into their laps and they embraced it. She had long red hair that fell at the center of her back and she had a soft face that kept statuesque as she asked Eric the painful question.

"Yeah…" Eric spoke low and shoved the last of his belongings in the cardboard box. Donna stood up and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him in for a tight hug. Her warm scent of vanilla and sugar surrounded him.

"I love you," she whispered between sobs and Eric felt the sadness envelope him. He couldn't believe this.

"I love you so much," Eric placed a soft kiss on her lips and pulled away tasting the salt from her tears.

"I will wait for you," she had whispered in his ear. Her earnest lips pressed against his lobe. Eric felt more uncertain than he did before when she had whispered that. He felt like this could be real, not just some silly fantasy high schoolers dream up.

"Are you ready for your first day at St. Jude's?" his mom said pushing a plate full of pancakes and bacon in front of him and a saccharine smile spread across her lips.

His mom was having a hard time transitioning too, but somehow she made the most of it. She was already trying to acclimate into the socialite's way of life. She was planning some event for some endangered mammal that no one will remember when he or she attends the said event.

"Yeah, no turning back now," Eric, said taking a sip of his orange juice.

"It will be great," she said rushing around the kitchen. Kitty was habitually picking up her mess, but Red waved her down from his newspaper as a maid swooped in and began cleaning instead, insisting that Kitty has many other important things to do.

"Red Forman! I have to working hands," she quipped back.

"I am going to go," Eric gulped the last of his orange juice, hoping to avoid the confrontation approaching. He grabbed his messenger bag and a fresh apple from the table. "I love you," escaped his mouth as he kissed his mom's cheek. He had reached the door when his fathers voice bellowed throughout the room.

"Eric,"

"Yeah dad?"

"Don't be a dumbass,"

He sat staring out the window of his families' town car. The buildings passed listlessly by. He pressed he head against the window and felt a sense of inner anguish. He was trying to find any viable way to get back to Wisconsin, but it seemed like he was here to stay. He tried hundreds of different things during the summer, but every one he tried seemed more pathetic than the one before. Red was becoming more and more impatient and eventually Eric shut up about it.

He stared back ahead and watched as Walt, his driver, pulled to the side of a large brick building. Eric looked out at his new school and made internal comparisons to his old high school. Point Place High School had high points sometimes. They won All State in Women's Tennis three years in a row and had really good pepperoni pizza on Fridays, but staring up at St. Jude's suddenly everything good at Point Place paled in comparison to this.

"You must be new?" a tall boy with shaggy brown hair said with his hands in his pocket and a giant goofy smile.

"Yeah," Eric replied putting his hand out and the tall boy shook it emphatically. "I am Eric Forman."

"Michael Kelso," he said. "So your parents are the Expert Auto owners aren't they? Oh man, my dad thought that was so bad ass!" His eyes lit up when he realized that he identified me.

"Pretty badass," Eric repeated under his breath. He kept his concentration on the building.

Michael Kelso then went into a spiel on how his family got their money. He was a childhood actor in numerous commercials and then became a child model. He bragged about how he was on the cover of Vogue for Children. A magazine Eric was sure didn't exist. His parents rode Michael's coattail and eventually were able to make money on Wall Street by dumb luck. Michael retired at the prime age of fourteen and was put in St. Jude's.

"How long have you been here?" Eric questioned. 

"Two years,"

"How is it?" Eric shuffled a little and watched as Michael laughed under his breath. It didn't take Eric long to know that Michael Kelso wasn't the brightest crayon in the box, but he could give him insights on the people and environment.

"Classes are impossible," Michael said. "I failed Spanish 1 like six times before Mrs. Lupe said she was tired of looking at my face and passed me. I found that fundamentally strange since I know I am one of the most handsome men in all of New York City." Michael sounded offended as he recalled and Eric couldn't help stifle a laugh.

"How about the people?"

"Most are uptight assholes," Michael paused looking around, "There are a few like me though,"

"Is it tough not having girls around?" Eric probed and Michael gave me an eyebrow raise.

"No, Constance Billard is connected to St. Jude's."

"What is Constance Billard?"

"Man, I have a lot to teach you," Michael grabbed Eric and wrapped his arm around Eric's neck and waved his arm like he was showing him a whole new world. Michael was trying desperately to prove his point. Girls in short skirts and prim blazers encompassed the steps and Eric suddenly felt blindsided. He was a faithful boyfriend, and knowing he was going to be around strictly boys would make the two years without sex feel not so awful. This was going to kill his hormones slowly.

"Constance is an all girl school isn't it?" Eric asked.

"Yes sir, and St. Jude's and Constance do a lot of functions together. We also share Study Hall." Michael confirmed.

"Cool,"

"Cool?" Michael questioned. "That's it? Forman, you are going to be surrounded by some of the most rich beautiful talented women in New York City and all they get is a _cool." _Michael poorly imitated Eric and Eric nodded at Michael. Eric wasn't sure why he wanted to relay information to a complete stranger, but around Michael Kelso he felt like they were old friends.

"I have a girlfriend back home,"

"Bummer," Michael said as if he was dejected for Eric's sake. "I to have a girlfriend, so we can enjoy the looking, but not the touching."

"Michael!" a piercing voice from behind Eric called. He turned around to see a petite brunette with a blood red colored headband placed perfectly in her mane. She stormed up to Michael with her bright eyes and pursed lips. The small girl shoved her thin pointer finger into his face with obvious irritation. "Where were you? I waited outside of Effy's for fifteen minutes and you never showed, you dickhead!"

"Sorry babe," Michael began to speak in a baby voice. "I was helping Eric here out, he is new here." Michael pointed to Eric. Eric was standing awkwardly as the small brunette's eyes veered her big eyes to him. She was expressionless as she scanned him. He didn't know why, but he felt himself break into a slight sweat. He began to notice more about her while she stared concentrated, she had mismatched eyes. One was green and the other was brown, or maybe hazel, he would need to get a closer look. Her hair was shiny and chestnut tinted as it fell around her shoulders and the slight curls moved with each slight movement she made.

"Eric Forman," Eric finally broke the uncomfortable glares and put his hand out, waiting for her to respond in kind. She examined it for a second. He couldn't bring himself to say anymore.

"Jackie Burkhart," she said looking back at Michael. "We will discuss you being late at 3:30, I have a student council meeting," Jackie left Eric with his hand out as she kissed Michael's cheek and walked around them.

"She seems," Eric pulled his hand back to his side. "Nice."

"She is a bitch," Michael said. "It is okay though, she is my bitch."

Eric returned his gaze back to St. Jude's and realized that this was going to be his life now. He wasn't going to be holed up with Donna in his parent's basement, hoping to get a final make out session in before curfew and he wasn't going to have to stomach food from the local diner because every other restaurant closes at 9pm on the dot. Eric was going to be surrounded by Michael Kelso and his irritating girlfriend Jackie Burkhart for the next two years, and there was nothing Eric could do about it.

"Class starts in five minutes, I better show you where to go." Michael said looking at his watch walking swiftly up the stairs and through the front doors of the school.

"What is your locker number?"

"121," Eric said looking at his cheat sheet. He had a small slip of paper with all of his classes, locker number, and locker combination on it.

"Sweet," Michael said standing beside it. "Locker buddies."

Eric smiled back and began fiddling with the lock. He opened it and slammed his bag in. He pulled out his Calculus book and an empty notebook. Eric inwardly groaned because of his distaste for math, he knew he was capable of doing it well, but he didn't care to do it in the first place.

"You have Calc?" Michael looked at Eric with a hint of revulsion. "I am still stuck in Geometry."

"Well, thanks for showing me around Michael." Eric said with a head nod and he began walking towards what he assumed was the East Wing. 

"Are you kidding? I am showing you to all your classes," Michael said. "You are heading down the North Wing by the way."

"Oh," Eric turned around and examined his map of the campus. He insisted that he wouldn't need it and now he was glad he accidently left it in his bag.

"What would you do without me," Michael said walking proud and Eric sucked in his cheek to stop from saying something menacing or the slightest bit mocking.

"I guess I won't be able to find out, will I?" Eric said under his breath as Michael showed him the Calculus classroom.

"Meet you outside of the class at 9:15. What is your next class?" Michael asked.

"European History,"

"Me too," Michael said cheerfully. "See you in a bit Forman."

Michael left Eric to Calculus and he stood in the hallway for a final brief moment before the bell rang. He watched the students flock in and out, wearing their Prada Loafers and Ray Ban sunglasses pushed on top of their head. Eric was dressed in the same outfit, only his shoes were Dockers and his sunglasses were from the flea market. His parents insisted on a whole new wardrobe for his whole new life, but he wanted those things. He wanted the cheap Dockers that he got for his very first job interview at the Wisconsin Cheese Mart when he turned fifteen and the cheap knock off sunglasses Donna had bought him on their very first date.

He was about to walk into the classroom when he spotted Jackie at the end of the hall. She was surrounded by mini versions of her. Each of them sported a headband and a hungry, eager expression. He watched the scene unfold as she barked orders at them, and even made on of them cry because she said their calves were too thick to wear ankle boots. The bell rang and they all scampered off to their designated classroom and Jackie stood stagnant. Her harsh appearance turned soft and she closed her eyes. Eric wasn't sure what caused the sudden change in her expressions, but he was entranced with what was going to happen next, class could wait. She opened her eyes and they fell right on him, and she became aware that he was watching her. Her expression reverted back to its original distaste as she walked toward him. Jackie stood in front of him and placed her hand on her hip.

"Is staring socially accepted in Wisconsin, because in New York City it is frowned upon," Jackie spat out. "Cheese head."

"Someone did their research on me," Eric quipped.

"I am student body president, it is my job to do it," Jackie said flipping her hair slightly, acting like she had better company to keep.

Eric knew he was already a few minutes late, so what would be the harm in tacking on an extra minute or two.

"Find anything interesting?"

"Eric Douglas Forman. Sixteen. Kitty and Reginald Albert Forman are your parents. They own Expert Auto, which is why you and your family have moved here. You come from new money which explains your horrid taste in shoes." Jackie pointed to the Dockers he had spent several minutes contemplating about.

"You are pretty thorough," Eric said surprised. "It is a shame though, I know nothing about you."

"Let's keep it that way," she said with a feisty undertone. Jackie made an attempt to leave, but Eric stopped her.

"Oh wait," he said and she looked at him impatiently. "I know you aren't as callous as you seem." Eric was surprised by his audacious response. Jackie raised her eyebrows at him.

"You don't know anything Eric Forman." Jackie said turning back around. She walked down the hall and out of sight.


End file.
